1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid dispenser apparatus in which a plurality of liquid retaining receptacles are filled simultaneously. In particular, the invention relates to a manually operated liquid dispenser for simultaneously filling a plurality of receptacles for a communion tray or the like.
2. Background
Many manually operable liquid dispensers are known in the art. Typically, a single spigot is employed to dispense liquid into each individual receptacle. Other receptacle filling devices include a pitcher or container with some form of spout to facilitate the pouring or squirting of liquid into individual cups or receptacles. The user must possess a certain amount of dexterity to quickly and efficiently fill a large number of receptacles without unwanted spillage. Unfortunately, liquid dispensers of these particular designs are completely inadequate for quickly filling large numbers of cups or receptacles, such as may be required during large social gatherings or religious services. For example, the Christian practice of communion requires the ceremonial ingestion of either wine or grape juice by the attending congregation. For reasons of sanitation many churches no longer use a single drinking cup, but instead distribute individual cups to each person. To facilitate distribution, the disposable cups are nested in trays which hold approximately thirty cups and distributed to the seated congregation. Each individual cup must be filled and positioned in the tray, representing a time consuming, tedious, and often messy procedure especially when large multitudes of people attend a service.
There has therefore been a need to provide an apparatus which efficiently will dispense liquid into a large number of cups or receptacles. Despite recognition of the foregoing, the art has generally lacked a dispenser apparatus which simultaneously fills a plurality of liquid receptacles accurately in a timely manner yet without spillage.